Spend less time searching for new genre fiction and more time reading it as I watch for newly-released genre fiction in the Kindle Store so you don't have to. Recommended new releases in fantasy and science fiction include:

Fantasy

Unnatural Issue by Mercedes Lackey. Daw, 2011. Print Length: 368 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (8 reviews). Kindle edition $12.99; Hardcover $15.82. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.
Unnatural Issue is book seven in Lackey's Elemental Masters series set in an alternate early 20th century version of our world - one in which magic exists. The novels in this series are loosely based on familiar fairy tales. The Elemental Masters' books (in order of publication) are The Fire Rose, The Serpent's Shadow, The Gates of Sleep, Phoenix and Ashes, Wizard of London, Reserved for the Cat, and Unnatural Issue.

"Richard Whitestone is an Elemental Earth Master. Blaming himself for the death of his beloved wife in childbirth, he has sworn never to set eyes on his daughter, Suzanne. But when he finally sees her, a dark plan takes shape in his twisted mind - to use his daughter's body to bring back the spirit of his long-dead wife." - http://us.penguingroup.com/

American Gods: The Tenth Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman. 4th Estate, 2011. Print Length: 560 p. Amazon customer rating: none yet. Kindle edition $12.99; Hardcover $16.58. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Locked behind bars for three years, Shadow did his time, quietly waiting for the magic day when he could return to Eagle Point, Indiana. A man no longer scared of what tomorrow might bring, all he wanted was to be with Laura, the wife he deeply loved, and start a new life. But just days before his release, Laura and Shadow’s best friend are killed in an accident. With his life in pieces and nothing to keep him tethered, Shadow accepts a job from a beguiling stranger he meets on the way home, an enigmatic man who calls himself Mr. Wednesday. Life as Wednesday’s bodyguard, driver, and errand boy is far more interesting and dangerous than Shadow ever imagined - it is a job that takes him on a dark and strange road trip and introduces him to a host of eccentric characters whose fates are mysteriously intertwined with his own. Along the way Shadow will learn that the past never dies; that everyone, including his beloved Laura, harbors secrets; and that dreams, totems, legends, and myths are more real than we know..." - Amazon.

Hexed: The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. Del Rey, 2011. Print Length: 320 p. Amazon customer rating: 5 stars (15 reviews). Kindle edition $7.99; Paperback $7.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. This is book two in Hearne's Iron Druid Chronicles series, following Hounded

"Atticus O’Sullivan, last of the Druids, doesn’t care much for witches. Still, he’s about to make nice with the local coven by signing a mutually beneficial nonaggression treaty - when suddenly the witch population in modern-day Tempe, Arizona, quadruples overnight. And the new girls are not just bad, they’re badasses with a dark history on the German side of World War II. With a fallen angel feasting on local high school students, a horde of Bacchants blowing in from Vegas with their special brand of deadly decadence, and a dangerously sexy Celtic goddess of fire vying for his attention, Atticus is having trouble scheduling the witch hunt. But aided by his magical sword, his neighbor’s rocket-propelled grenade launcher, and his vampire attorney, Atticus is ready to sweep the town and show the witchy women they picked the wrong Druid to hex." - from the paperback edition.

Science Fiction

Leviathan Wakes by James S. A. Corey. Orbit, 2011. Print Length: 592 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (15 reviews). Kindle edition $9.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled. Please note: This e-book edition of Leviathan Wakes includes a free copy of The Dragon's Path by Daniel Abraham.

"Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach. Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why. Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to The Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything. Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations - and the odds are against them." - Amazon.

Temporary Duty by Ric Locke. Self-Published, 2011. Amazon customer rating: 4 1/2 stars (15 reviews). Kindle edition $2.99. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"A pair of enlisted sailors are assigned to an alien spaceship, to clean and prepare quarters for the real human delegation. Once there, they find that there's a little more to it... Alien worlds, exploding spaceships, IRS agents, derring-do, and a little sex. Oh, and mops, brooms, and dustpans. Truly there are wonders Out There." - Amazon.

The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi. Tor Books, 2011. Print Length: 336 p. Amazon customer rating: 4 stars (36 reviews). Kindle edition $11.99; Hardcover $16.15. Text-to-Speech: Enabled.

"Jean le Flambeur is a post-human criminal, mind burglar, confidence artist, and trickster. His origins are shrouded in mystery, but his exploits are known throughout the Heterarchy - from breaking into the vast Zeusbrains of the Inner System to stealing rare Earth antiques from the aristocrats of Mars. Now he’s confined inside the Dilemma Prison, where every day he has to get up and kill himself before his other self can kill him. Rescued by the mysterious Mieli and her flirtatious spacecraft, Jean is taken to the Oubliette, the Moving City of Mars, where time is currency, memories are treasures, and a moon-turned singularity lights the night. What Mieli offers is the chance to win back his freedom and the powers of his old self—in exchange for finishing the one heist he never quite managed. The Quantum Thief is a crazy joyride through the solar system several centuries hence...it is also a story powered by very human motives of betrayal, revenge, and jealousy." - Amazon.
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Note to readers: The book prices quoted here are the Amazon.com prices in effect at the time of the blog posting. Please follow the links to the individual book to check the current price.



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